Venus Williams Reveals Her Struggles With Sjogren’s Syndrome

Venus appeared on the July 11 episode of ‘Katie’ and talked about her illness and how it has affected her life since 2011. She’s so inspiring!

Venus Williams is one of the best tennis players in the world, but sadly, she suffers from Sjogren’s Syndrome, an illness that destroys glands which produce tears and saliva, causes joint pain and fatigue. and also affects parts of the body, including the kidneys and lungs. The award-winning sports star opened up about her struggles on Katie on July 11.

Venus Williams’ Sjogren’s Syndrome Struggle Revealed On ‘Katie’

“I’m feeling a lot better. I still have to be careful how much I do. At first, it was hard to accept, but now I realize, especially if I want to play tennis — if I go to bed late one day — it might take me four days to recover. I just have to be conscious of what I’m doing. For a long time I didn’t know why I didn’t feel good. Every so often, I’d have just a horrible loss and I’d go to the doctor and I’d say, ‘I don’t feel good’ and they didn’t know why. Now, I feel like this is my chance to understand why I didn’t feel my best and then I can feel better and then have a second chance, almost, to do better,” Venus, 33, told Katie Couric.

Venus first announced she suffered from the disease, with the help of ABC’s Robin Roberts, in 2011. However, she’s since learned not to worry about it so much, and she certainly won’t let it affect her career.

When asked if she’d be retiring from tennis, she said, “no way!

Phew — we’re definitely happy to hear that!

What did you think of Katie’s interview with Venus Williams, HollywoodLifers?